Comic pride

I was reading the blogs today, and came across this article at Whereof One Can Speak, about reading comics in public--while on the bus, waiting for a dentist appointment, etc.--rather than novels or magazines or other reading material.

I don't do a lot of reading in public of anything these days. I don't have a commute, I rarely have appointments that require a lot of waiting. I occasionally throw whatever paperback I happen to be reading into my purse if I know I'm going to have a wait, but usually I don't.

But I read my comics in public all through high school. (Didn't in college, but that's because I didn't have them there--I was away from home and my brother picked up my comics for me to read whenever I had a vacation.) I'd sit in study hall with a stack of Legion of Superheroes, never thought a thing about it (other than that there are definitely perks for being a good student who never makes trouble).

When I went on a class trip, I insisted that we stop at a Real Comic Shop (my first, an awesome experience), and had no problem with doing that either.

Comics weren't particularly popular when I was a kid/teen; I think I had exactly one friend who also enjoyed them (X-Men, there was just the one title back then).

Granted that I may have been an unusual teenager in embracing my geek-ness to that extent, particularly in the late 70s, but I never saw the point of hiding my choice of reading material, and I never had a single negative comment. Maybe I also went to a school with an unusually tolerant and kind-hearted student body? Seems unlikely, doesn't it? I think folks just don't really care about that stuff.

But as far as I know, I never inspired anyone to pick up a comic. Not even the kids who were dragged into the comic shop with me. (IIRC they browsed, but did not buy.) In fact, as far as I know, the only folks I've ever inspired to read comics have been the kids and the husband, and that's because they're in the same house with me.

Although we have always got stacks of comics around the house. (Mainly because the husband tends to let them pile up and then read them all at once. The thirteen-year-old is annoyed by this because it means that she and I can't talk about Deadpool's latest adventures in front of him until he's caught up. :)) And sometimes when we've got company, someone will pick up a comic and read it, or glance through it. That's something, I guess. :)